Answer: I took a short drive to the Greenville, S.C., area, and in two days I shifted my entire business focus. I visited a long-time, brilliant friend who just sold her business and is taking a course in Internet marketing. Together we looked at my business website (http://www.zebraeditor.com/), and Rocky pointed out dozens of things I could and should improve. We worked for hours on ways to add more value to my website, reach more people, and help writers even more than I already do. We both came away so excited that she plans to upgrade my website for me as her first class project. Exhilarating as it is, it also has meant a great deal of work and copious communication between us. Forgive my absence from this blog. Accept that I’m here today, reporting in, albeit late.
In my prior entry, I mentioned how much I’ve fallen in love with limes, a fruit few people consider, and let me say the love affair continues. When servers ask for my drink order, I try to remember to ask, “Do you have limes? If so, I’d like water with lime.” Invariably my lunch partners follow suit, and all agree that lime in our water tastes ten times better than lemon. I make sure I squeeze every bit of that precious juice into my water before I drink it.
I squeeze limes on top of my salad dressing to extend it and make it burst with flavor while adding very few calories. Limejuice poured onto steamed vegetables has to be the most appetizing and lowest-calorie way to consume healthy, delicious foods. I should dig deeper and find even more uses for limes, and if you have some, let me know.
When I looked up the content of lime, all the figures were based on one cup of the juice. I barely use a tablespoon at a time, not a cup, but still, now I know that a cup of lime juice contains only 60 calories. I’m not a mathematician, but that figure extrapolates into only a few calories per tablespoonful. Limejuice also contains the following vitamins and minerals:
Vitamin A
Beta Carotene
Vitamin C
Vitamin D
Vitamin E
Vitamin K
Thiamin
Riboflavin
Niacin
Vitamin B6
Folate
Choline
Betaine
Calcium
Iron
Magnesium
Phosphorus
Potassium
Sodium
Zinc
Copper
Selenium
When I read the labels for any “reduced-calorie” salad dressing, the product usually contains more water and salt than the equivalent “regular” salad dressing. Many reduced-calorie foods have added sugar and salt to make up for the fact that the added water literally waters down the taste. Ugh. Instead, I use regular (tasty) dressing, but use slightly less of it. After I add the dressing and before I mix up my salad, I squeeze on the juice of half a lime, which spreads out the dressing so it covers all the greens, and the taste explodes in my mouth. Love it! I'm adding vitamins and minerals, too. How many vitamins and minerals would water add?
To lose weight I eat quite a few salads, often one a day for extended periods. How bored I would get if they all tasted bland, dry, or worse, bitter! Lime solves everything. It makes the flavor of everything in my salad bowl taste better, especially the avocado. Don’t get me started on avocado, though. I’ll have to talk about those dear things in another blog, because I might talk all day, otherwise.
Meanwhile, forgive me for not checking in with everyone for a while. I feel disappointed in myself that I failed to meet my latest mini goal of 190 by the end of February. This is the second time I’ve failed to meet my mini goal of 190. My weight loss has slowed way down, but I’m still moving in the right direction, and I’m still reaping compliments from friends. Best of all, I feel great, and it feels good to feel good.
Starting weight: 245
Weight last check-in: 193
Weight this week: 192
Total pounds lost: 54
Goal weight: 150
New mini goal: 190 by March 15
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